Ohio River Valley Viticultural Area ... We're Number 1

Here's something I didn't know until today:

The Ohio River Valley is the largest officially recognized viticultural (wine-producing) area in the United States.

However, some folks in the Upper Mississippi River Valley plan to form a larger area.

I'm not much of a wine fan (although in high school my buddies and I did try to distill moonshine and vodka with chemistry lab equipment, with little success), but I did find that interesting.

A morning at Harris Riverfront Park

This morning I had to go out on an unexpected errand, so naturally I grabbed my camera and stopped by Huntington's Harris Riverfront Park for a few minutes.

First, I was surprised by the amount of wood drift and human trash in the river. I probably shouldn't have been, considering all the rain we've had this week. A lot of stuff comes out of the tributaries, and the Guyandotte has had a pretty strong current where it meets the Ohio at Huntington.

A couple of swan geese, several Canada geese and a lot of ducks swam among the debris while the mv. Barbara came downbound pushing 15 loads of coal.

The wake washed up on the HRP boat launch ramp.

And the Barbara passed under the 6th Street Bridge.

Meanwhile, setup proceeded for the Huntington Symphony Orchestra's concert by the Ohio River tonight.

And we stopped to enjoy some of the flowers planted and tended to by a volunteer group.

A typical morning at the park, I guess.